Yemen’s Saleh Slams Calls to Resign

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh angrily rejected calls to resign today, claiming the opposition was not sincere in its calls for free elections and was simply mimicking the pro-democracy protests in other nations.

Saleh went on to insist that he would only consider leaving office if virtually every major nation and alliance in the world provided him with “guarantees,” which didn’t seem to be of any specific nature.

This would be in keeping with the past negotiations on Saleh’s ouster, which have always come to an end with the long-time dictator demanding some random concession or insisting some minor error in protocol makes the entire deal completely unacceptable.

Violence continued across Yemen today, with a roadside bombing in the southern Lahj Province killing two civilians and wounded 12 others. Nine government soldiers in the Abyan Province were also reported captured by fighters loyal to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).